Ditching-machine.



O. PRECHETTE.

DITCHING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1910 Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

INUEINTEIF? QFPE'E'HETTE \UrrNsssss APPLICATION irILED MAY14, 1910.

\ui'messas O. FREOHETTE.

DITOHING MACHINE.

Patented'MaI .5,1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INUEIN'T'EIF? I ,UF'EEEHE'TTE 0. PREGHETTB,

DITGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1910.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

' 3 SHEETSSH EET 3.

INUEiNTUH 0' FREE'HETTE s'rA'rEs ATENT orio ONESIME FREGHETTE, OF ST. PIERRE, MANITOBA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES FORSTALL, OF ST. PIERRE, CANADA.

DITCHING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, ONESIME FRECHE'ITE, of the village of St. Pierre,'in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ditching- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ditching machines, and the object of the invention isto provide a machine which will excavate by means of a series of shovels or scoops which will lift the earth and deposit it on theside ofia ditch.

A further objectof the invention is to devise an easily operated and portable machine which can be advanced or receded according to the requirements and which will dispense with a great deal of the labor now involved in operations of this class.

The machine is particularly adapted for road making. v

The. invention consists essentially in a frame formed from forward and rearward interconnected members movably secured-the one to the other, supporting wheels for the frame, an engine platform carried by the rear member of the frame, meansfor advancing or retracting the members of the frame, cross girders secured permanently to the rear members of the frame, opposing cross beams swingably secured to the girders, a set of endless chains, carried by the beams, scoops or shovels on the chains, adjusting means for the beams, and means for operating the chains, the parts being arranged and constructed as hereinafter more particularly described. 1

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine as it appears when in operation.. Fig. 2 is a plan'view of the machine, portions of the girders and chains being removed. Fig; 3 is a front view of the machine. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed sectional view through the scoop carrying beams, the section being taken in the plane denoted by the line X X, Fig. 3.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

1 represents the frame of a machine which is formed from a forward or outer member 2 and a rear or inner member 3, such members being movably secured the one to the Specification of Letters Patent.

"other as shortlyto be explained. The inner member 3 is formed from longitudinally extending beams 3 3 and cross beams't and 4. The outer member is constructed from longitudinally extending beams '2 and 2 Patented Mar. 5, 1912,

Application filed May 14, 1910. Serial No. 561,450.

united rearwardly by a cross board 5 and forwardly by a platform 5, such parts being secured to the upper side of the longitudinal members and being adapted to clear the inmi members of the frame when the parts are" adjusted.

secured permanently to the beams 3 and 3 of the inner frame said bearings receiving cross shafts S and 8 fitted at their ends with rollers 9 which operate on tracks 10 located on the upper sides of the beams 2"'=and 2 of the outer member of the frame.

11 is a forward cross beam secured permanently to the beams 2 and 2 of the forward member of the frame and 12 is a yoke-shaped channel iron bar having its extremities secured to the ends of the beam and supported centrally on abeam 13 which rests on the forward axle 14 such latter parts being connected by the ordinary king bolt 15. The yoke bar is strengthened by braces 16 passing from the frame.

17 is a U-shaped from the yoke bar to which it is secured, such U-bar being supported from theforward member of theframe by braces 18 at either side.

19 is a drum'secured to a cross shaft 20 having its ends received within bearings formed in the U-bar 17. The drum has a cable 21 fastened thereto, the extremity of the cable being secured at to the axle 14. The drum is rotated by a worm 23 located at. the end of the post, 24 having a steering wheel 25 at its upper end, the post passing through the platform 5 ,The worm meshes with any suitable form of worm wheel lobar passing forwardly rear axle 2,9 which is carried by the wheels 30. Braces 31 pass between the axle and the rear end of the beams 2 and 2 .Opposing rollers 32 are secured to the rear end of the forward member of the frame such rollers supporting the inner member thereof.

33 and 34 are girders secured permanently to the beams 3 and 3 and extending to either side of the frame.

35 and 35 are cross beams swingably secured to the girders by means of a cross shaft 36. To the beams 35 and 35' I have secured by hinges further beams 37 and 37 which are united at their extremities by a cross shaft 38 and are supported by a bail bar 39 carried f at the end of a cable 40 which passes from the drum 40 mounted on the shaft 41 located in the ends of the girders already referred to. The beams 35 and 35 carry a cross shaft 35 and endless chains 42 unite sets of chain wheels, 43 and 43 mounted on the respective shafts 35 and 38.

44 are scoops or scrapers firmly secured to.

the chains and between them by cross rods 45 and 45'. The buckets are all arranged in the same direction and are adapted to pick up the earth as the chains are operated.

' 46 and 47 are cross beams firmly secured to the inner member of the frame and utilized for supporting bearings shortly to be described;

48 is an engine platform carried by brackets 49 extending downwardly from the inner member of the frame.

50 represents an engine of any approved type of which 50 is the shaft carrying the -dr1ve car 51.

52 is the main shaft of the machine mounted in bearings 52 carried by the girders 34 and 33, and the beam 47. The main shaft carries a chain gear 53 which is connected through the chain 53' with the gear 51 of the engine shaft.

54 is a counter shaft mounted in a stationary bearing 54, and a movable bearing 54 located on the girder 34 and the beam 46. The shaft carries at one end a bevel pinion 55 and at the opposite end a friction pulley 55'. A lever 56 controls the movement of the shaft and allows the pulley 55 to be thrown either to the right or left as desired.

57 is a short shaft mounted in bearings 58 carried by the beam 47 and the girder 33, such shaft having fixed thereon a chain wheel 58, which is connected by means of a chain 59 to a chain .wheel 59' keyed on the shaft 52. 60 is a second chain wheel on the shaft 57 such wheel being connected through a chain 60 with a chain wheel 60 located on theextending end of the shaft 35 Pulleys 61 and'62 are fixed on the shafts 52 and 57, respectively, directly opposite the pulley 51,

-wh1ch pulley is'adapted when shifted by the lever to engage with either one or the other of the pulleys 61 and 62.

63 is a cross shaft mounted in suitable bearings 63 located on the beams 3 and 3 of the inner member 3. The shaft is provided with a bevel gear 64 and a chain wheel 65' the bevel gear meshing with the bevel pinion 55, already referred to. Directly beneath the shaft 63 is a cross shaft 66 car-.

ried by suitable bearings 66' dependent from the beams 3 and 3 of the inner member The shaft has a chain wheel 67 fixed thereon which is connected through a chain 68 with a chain wheel 65. Pinions 69 are secured to the ends of the shaft 66 and operate on racks 7 O fixed on the under side of the beams 2 and 2 of the outer member of the frame.

71 is a shaftmounted in a fixed bearing 71 and a movable bearing 71 located on the transverse beams 72 and 73, respectively,

the beam 72 passing between the, extremities of the girders 33 and 34 adjoiningthe .drum 40, and the beam 7 3-between the girder 34 and the cross beam 46. A .worm 74 is formed on the extending end of the shaft, such worm meshing with a worm wheel 75 placed on the shaft 41. The inner end of the shaft 71 carries a friction pulley 76 the position of which is controlled by the lever 7 which shifts the end of the shaft from side to side as desired.

'7 8 and 79 are disks on the shaft 52. The pulley 76 is adapted to engage with either of the disks in its shifted position thereby imparting to the shaft 71 either a forward or reverse rotation.

80 is a drum mounted on the shaft 80 which is carried in suitable bearings located on the girders 33 and 34. The shaft is provided with a crank 81 and a ratchet wheel 82 over which operatesa ratchet 83. .A cable 84'passes from the drum downwardly to the bail bar 85 which has its extremities fastened tovthe lower ends of the beams 35 and 35. The shafts 45 and 45- extend beyond the chains and are provided with rollers 45 which rollers are adapted to pass into the channel iron bars 86 fastened on the inner sides of the beams 35 35 and 36 36, respectively.

87 is a foot piece having suitable claws 87 thereon and carrying upwardly directed arms 88 which are pivoted to blocks 89 operating between guide bars 90 passing between the platform 48 and the beams 3 and 3 Adjustable pins 91 are fitted in'the guide bars so that the blocks can be prevented from risingbetween the uide bars higher than is desired. It will 0 course be understood that the arms are pivotally secured to the foot piece.

In order to better understand the machine I will now describe its operation assuming that the engine is operating and the parts are set in the position as shown inthe drawing. The shaft 36 is rotated by the chain 60' operated by the engine, as Will readily be understood, this being a direct drive. The scoops are moved by the chains and excavate ment and have the attendant withdraw the pin 91 which allows the blocks to slide 1n.

the guides and nullifies the effect of the foot piece on the machine. This will cause the inner frame to pass forwardly as the pinions will operate on the racks, which will remain stationary. owever it will be seen that it will be only possible to advance the cut a limited distance in this manner, such depend ing on the length of the racks, the machine remaining stationary in respect to the ground. In order to avoid this difficulty and to provide a machine that can advance and recede as desired I have utilized the foot piece 87 which if placed in the position shown in. the drawing will cause the inner frame to remain stationary and consequently prevent the pinions from changlng their position relativelyto the ground. Accordlngly depending upon the rotation given the shaft 54 the outer frame will move either forwardly or backwardly, the racks passlng over the pinions, which is the opposite to the motion already described wherein the pinion is moved forwardly and the racks remain stationary. It will of course be understood that the pins 91 are inserted atthis time in the guide bars to prevent the blocks from rising. If it be desired to adjust the outer end of the beams 37 and 37 it can be done quickly and easily by throwing the lever 77 to bring the clutch 76 into engagement, with either one of the disks 78 and 79. This will cause the cable to loosen or tighten on the drum and consequently raise or lower the vbeams. The lower ends of the beams 35 and 35 are adjusted by the cable 85 and drum' 80. A hand operation is used on the drum 80 as it does not need to be adjusted very often while the machine is running.

lVhat I claim my invention is:

1. A ditching machine, comprising a forward and a rcar member forming a frame, the forward memberbeing supported by suitable wheels, means for moving the rear member in respect to the other member forwardly or backwardly, girders secured to the rear member of the frame and extending.

' beyond the forward member, an opposing set of beams hingedly secured to the girders at one end, further beams hingedly secured to the latter beams, a set of adjustable drums mounted in bearings carried by the girders, one of said drums being united through a suitable cable with the latter beams and the other through a suitable cable with the former beams, cross shafts carried by the beams, chain wheels on the shafts, endless cured at intervals to the chains, and reversible means for rotating one of the drums, as and for the purpose specified.

2. A ditching machine, comprising a forward and a rear member forming a frame, the forward member being supported by suitable carriagewheels, tracks located on the upper side of the forward member, cross shafts mounted forwardly an'd rcarwardly on the rear member, such shaft carrying rollersadapted to operate on the tracks, longitudinally extending racks fixed on the under side of the forward member, a cross shaft dependentfrom the rear member said shaft carrying pinions operating on the racks, an engine platform dependent from the rear member of the frame, an engine mounted on the platform, girders'mounted on the rear member and extending transversely across and beyond the outer member, suitable adjustable transversely extending ditching means carried by the girders, a main shaft mounted in bearings fixed on the girders, such shaft being connected to the engine shaft, a rotatable counter shaft carried by the inner member and adjoining the main shaft, a short shaft mounted in bearings carried by the inner frame and connected with the main shaft by a suitable chain and chain wheels, said short shaft, main shaft, and counter shaft being supplied with engageable pulleys whereby a forward or reverse motion can be given to the counter shaft, a bevel pinion secured to the free end ported by suitable carriage wheels, such members being adjustable longitudinally the one in respect to the other, of. a platform de pendent from the rear member of the frame, vertically directed guide bars passing between the platform and the rear member, guide blocks slidable between the guide bars, arms pivotally secured to the guide blocks, a foot piece swingably secured to the arms, and adjustable pim; adapted to pass between Fhe guide bars, as'and for the purpose speciied.

l 4,. Ina ditching machine, the combination with a forward and a rear member forming a frame, the -forward-member being supported by suitable carriage wheels and the rear member "supported from the forward member movably by suitable rollers, racks chains unitingthe chain wheels, scoops sefixed on the forward member, and pinions dependent from the rear member and operatmg on the racks, of a platform dependent from the inner member of the frame, guide bars passing between the platform and the rear member. and adjustable means operating between the guide bars and engageable with the ground over which the machine is operating adapted to prevent the rear mem- Signed at Winnipeg, lnthe Province of Manitoba, this 21st day of February 1910.

ONE SIME FREOHETTE.

In the presence of- G. S. ROXBU/RGH, J. K. ELKIN. 

